PHOENIX - TelAve -- The Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority today announced the 2026 Future Innovators of the Year and Teacher of the Year award recipients to be honored at the 23^rd annual Governor's Celebration of Innovation (GCOI) in November.

The awards recognize Arizona students pursuing ambitious science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects and the educators who help them thrive. The recipients will be honored at GCOI on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 4:45 to 8:30 p.m. at Chateau Luxe, 1175 E. Lone Cactus Drive, Phoenix.

"From detecting disease earlier to developing new ways to clean our water, this year's honorees demonstrate how Arizona students are applying STEM knowledge to challenges that affect us all," said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Council and SciTech Institute. "Their achievements also underscore the vital role of educators who nurture curiosity and give students the confidence to pursue ambitious ideas. We're proud to celebrate both at this year's Governor's Celebration of Innovation."

"Congratulations to this year's Future Innovators of the Year and Teacher of the Year winners," said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. "These students represent the creativity, talent and forward-thinking that continues to advance our innovation ecosystem, and their achievements reflect the continued impact that these educators have in inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments at the 2026 Governor's Celebration of Innovation Awards!"

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The Future Innovators of the Year were outstanding participants in the senior division (grades 9-12) of the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair held in March. Future Innovator winners will receive $1,500 scholarships to advance their education, while honorable mentions will receive $500 scholarships. The Teacher of the Year will receive a $1,500 cash award, and the honorable mention will receive a $500 award.

Future Innovators of the Year Award Winners

• Diya Shah, Grade 11, BASIS Chandler – Project: NeuroTracer: Unraveling Pre-diagnostic Signals for Early-Onset Parkinson's Disease from Archimedean Spiral Drawings using the 2D Wavelet Transform, Recurrence Quantification Analysis, and Convolutional Neural Networks
• Rahul Madhu, Grade 10, Arizona College Preparatory High School (Chandler) – Project: ESSENCE - Enzyme Split System Enabling Non-wash Colorimetric Evaluation: A Novel Colorimetric-Inducing Dual Biopolymer Nanocomposite Fix Within an Anisotropic Vertical-Flow Nitrocellulose Matrixfor the Spatial Mapping of IL-1a CTSK for Skin Cancer Differentiation and Staging
• Wilson Hilgaertner, Grade 12, BASIS Chandler – Project: Minimizing Drag Force through Bubble Formation on Aerogel Surfaces
• Shilo Karakkattu, Grade 12, BASIS Mesa – Project: Cactus to Cleanliness: Chitosan-Functionalized Alginate-Cactus Beads for Simultaneous Heavy Metal and Microplastic Water Remediation

Future Innovators of the Year Honorable Mentions

• Nick Bowie and Alexei Barrow, Grades 10 and 11, respectively, BASIS Flagstaff – Project: Decentralized Pyrolytic Conversion of Forest Residue

Teacher of the Year Award Winner

• Jason Flora, Kofa High School (Yuma)

Teacher of the Year Honorable Mention

• Jacko Kim Mabeza, Harvest Preparatory Academy (Yuma)

The Future Innovator and Teacher of the Year Award winners were evaluated and chosen by a selection committee independent of the Council. The committee included members of the Arizona Council of Engineering and Scientific Associations, which supports, promotes and coordinates programs and activities of the engineering and science associations within the state through facilitated communication and leadership. The Future Innovator scholarship sponsor is Honeywell Aerospace, and the Teacher of the Year award sponsor is American Express.

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To learn more about GCOI and the Future Innovators and Teacher of the Year award recipients, or to purchase tickets for the Council's flagship event, please visit https://www.aztechcouncil.org/event/2026-governors-celebration-of-innovation-awards/.